Never be Alone
by Yamiyugikun
Summary: When Yuri and Judith meet the night before Zaude, Yuri senses she's hurt and invites her to dinner. She realizes how alone she is, how much Yuri means as a friend. Yuri x Judith friendship, romance, oneshot.


**Title**: Never be Alone

**Pairing:** Yuri x Judith

**Genre:** Romance, friendship

**Rating:** Teen for adult humor, suggestive situations and lime (making out and kissing). No lemon.

**Summary:** After Judith rejoins Brave Vesperia and Estelle is saved from Alexei, Judith is alone outside at Zaphias castle when Yuri meets her, and she realizes how lonely she was before she met him and how much she needs him now.

* * *

**Third person POV**

Her wine-dark eyes, an intoxicating shade of purple, gazed placidly at her reflection below, peering from an elven face at her shimmering reflection, smiling back from the eddying pool below, broken only by ripples flowing out. The pool filled to the brim with water was so exquisitely clear, she could make out each pebble at the bottom, and polished smooth from years of the water running over, as were the sides of the fountain she lay on.

White foam bubbled where she leaned in, wetting a few strands of her hair, most of it swept back in a tight purple bun, adorned with hair ornaments like many Kritya used. She sighed, enjoying the sensation of cool spray coating her skin, from the water splashing up in a continuous jet, spurted out from the pool's bubbling center.

With a sprightly air, she rose from resting reclined on her side, now sitting up, facing away, her legs dangling idly from the fountain's stony rim. Her legs were long and slender, naked except for the boots coming up to her shin and the white half skirt worn behind. A man's eye following the curve of her leg, the sinew of her muscles, taut beneath her skin, contrasting against her dark expressive eyes, might find his heart skipping a sudden beat. Her playful face, clear in complexion, caught the full moon's light, watching the scene about her: the courtyard of Zaphias castle, with one hall out of the three inside, leading straight ahead to the Audience Room nearby.

When she heard with her pointy ears, the pattering of steps, down on the cold marble floor, coming straight from the Audience Room that echoed in her direction, drowned out beneath the splashing fountain, a smile crossed her lips. Curling up, they glistened in the dark and her eyes gleamed, no longer that subdued shade of violet, but purple like amethyst's, only clear and deep like the very pool she sat by.

"Out for a late night stroll?" Judith inquired, cocking her head to one side, a mischievous grin playing on her face at the stranger who approached.

Yuri's dark clothes made him melt into the dark, until he stepped outside, joining her by the fountain, with the soft sigh of the evening breeze gently caressing his hair. His raven mane twisted in its breath, drawing Judith's eye.

"Judy," he began, his deep base voice rich to her ears, rising above the fountain's watery song. "It seems I've run into you again." A smile tugged at his lips. Even with his poker face, he couldn't help but notice her ample bosom heaving out, spilling from her dark blue top trimmed with gold, as if it were slicked with sweat, when it was really the spray coating her skin that gave it a sexy, seductive sheen.

"Well, we seem to meet a lot when you're out on your late night walks," she replied. Her lips widened to more of a grin and eyes narrowed, meaning to lure him in. She noticed subtle changes as the rising of his chest, the beating of his heart, though he kept a straight face smiling, or rather it was a grin he held inwardly.

"Perhaps it's the Fates, Judy dear," he answered flirtatiously, his inward grin coming out at last, spreading in his smile. He knew she loved playing games like this, all the more since he wouldn't give in, providing a challenge when Raven fell head over heels and even Karol in all his innocence was charmed.

"But I came to tell you…" he continued, leaning his weight on one leg, hand on his hip as he leaned, "Estelle's going to be okay. Rita is working on a formula to get her power under control after we freed her from Alexei."

"I'm glad, Yuri." She sprung up, facing him, her once light heartened expression tinged with concern as she spoke. "I was trying to contact Phaeroh. If Zaude is connected to the ancient catastrophe, Phaeroh might know something about it."

"Isn't he gonna ask about Estelle?" Yuri's voice rose slowly in consternation, lilting over her shoulder as he neared her, standing only a foot away, she could feel his warm breath tickling her neck. She studied the way the moonlight carved silver tones in the planes of his chest, rippled and cut beneath.

"I'll tell him it looks like everything will be okay," Judith replied softly, closing her eyes, letting her chin fall on her breast, still coated in spray, with images of Yuri's chest etched in her mind as she dreamed. A part of her wanted to slip a questing hand in feeling the tautness of his pectorals, how his nubs hardened under her touch. But she had grown to respect him and it wasn't the same as teasing old Raven.

"All right, thanks." Yuri's deep voice sent shivers through, like sweet sugar, making her want to melt.

There was something incredibly seductive in his soft undertones the way he addressed her so subtly, yet full of feeling at once. He smiled gently at her, his black eyes warm with affection. It made his entire face radiant like the full moon's above imbuing it with a brilliance beyond mere humanity. His dark tresses framing his tender face were stirred by the breeze, twisting about him, baring the scent of honeysuckle blossoms that grew on some vines nearby saturating the air with their scent.

Finding herself drowning in his pools, blacker than the night sky, dark as onyx stones, she struggled to maintain her composure, addressing him back. "You know, the only real goal I've had in life has been to destroy the Hermes Blastia." She strolled casually past him, her heart skipping in her chest. She was usually leveled headed and calm, at least outwardly but tonight had been different. There was an air of intimacy that bound them unlike before. Perhaps it was from meeting on so many late night walks, or saving Estelle together.

"I didn't have to think about other things while I was doing that." She paused; looking away into the dark hall leading to the Audience Room, pausing on the walkway Yuri had passed. She couldn't believe she spoke about how she felt. She was so used traveling alone with Ba'ul, speaking to no other soul but him.

"Other things?" Yuri turned around in her direction, eying her curiously, his black eyes gleaming in the night.

"Oh…" she hesitated, facing him back, her gaze lost in the starry sky above. "This world, _me_, lots of things." When she said _me_, Yuri knew much weighed on her mind, making her mood a bit more solemn that usual, at least now that they were talking. "Had I never met Estelle, I might still be flying around with Ba'ul, not thinking or anything." She closed her eyes, her chin sinking down, wishing she could reach out and embrace him.

She wanted to add, _had I not met you, Yuri, I'd still be the same person going after the Hermes Blastia for the sake of saving the world. _

"Phaeroh said you'd changed too," Yuri observed softly, closing the distance between them with a few distant strides, the sword he carried slapping against his leg. "As have I."

His final comment caught her off guard. _What am I thinking?_ She thought._ I have a mission to fulfill for the Extelexia and my people. The Elder warned me that involvement with humans would surely complicate things, but it already has, especially with him._

"Don't get me wrong," she retorted, drawing back mentally, her defenses coming up. "I have no intention of ignoring the blastia or the aer."

"Is that part of the 'lots of things' you mentioned?" Yuri asked gently, taking a step towards her, his inflection raised on _lots of things_, hinting he knew something ailed her deep inside her heart: her feelings for him concerning their relationship.

Instinctively, Judith detected this, speechless for a moment, surprise across her face as her posture stiffened, knowing that Yuri sensed, she indeed felt something special towards him. When they first met and he saw her without her armor, and she asked _don't you like my skin, it's all pure and beautiful? _And he replied, _I'm actually afraid where my eyes might wander, but I prefer eye candy to scary armor any day_. Then she answered, _you don't look that worried to me_. He laughed saying, _I just have a good poker face_.

That was pure, lighthearted jesting, but now that they'd gotten to know each other on a deeper level, she felt herself drawing back. It started after she destroyed the blastia on the ship, after Belius died at Nordopolica Coliseum. She felt she'd betrayed the trust of the Brave Vesperia, surprised Yuri didn't punish her for breaking the Guild laws, going so far to chase her to Mt. Temza to save her.

_She's changed more than I thought, more than Phaeroh realizes_, Yuri reflected to himself, not wanting to alienate her any more. As the true leader of Brave Vesperia, igniting Karol's inspiration, he knew he'd have to be the one to hold the Guild like a family.

"Sorry, forget I said that," Yuri said kindly, his warmth finding its way into her trembling heart. His cocked his head aside as he spoke and a tender smile brightened his moonlit face. His smile captured her gaze as he passed, pausing between the torches that lit the entrance to the Audience Hall, casting fiery tones off his hair and clothes, playing in his eyes.

"I won't let Phaeroh kill Estelle, nor will I let Alexei…go on," she whispered, still lost in her reverie, but levelheaded enough that her voice and countenance was solemn with concern.

"We'll stop Alexei tomorrow," Yuri added, raising a hand to her shoulder. His touch seemed to pass through the thin white fabric of her overcoat, snapping her from her trance. "I'll be making crockets for dinner, so come by the Knight's dinning hall, okay?"

She nodded, wondering why his touch felt so electric; sending tingles throughout her limbs and chills up her spine that struck her. _Why am I feeling this way?_ She reflected, watching his lean, muscular form melting back into the darkness of the hall to the Audience Room inside.

Knowing she was the coolest, most rational of her people, the Elder of Myozo sent her on a mission to destroy the Hermes Blastia, not to return until she'd accomplished it and the world itself was safe. She feared that the strange fluttering in her heart might distract her, resulting in the failure of her mission. As a Kritya, she was an outcast among her people, most of who were docile, peaceful creatures. If she could just fulfill her mission, she might gain acceptance among her people. Alienated from them since childhood, she'd been a loner, who enjoyed fighting and traveling. Yuri was the first person, a human too, who saw beyond to the wounds she held within.

She'd have to be on her guard even more, following his invitation to the dining hall inside. After wandering through the expansive halls of the castle, beneath their vaulted hallways, the fire light reflected off well polished marble floors, quaint statues lining the walls, and banners of the Imperial Throne hung like tapestries, she came to the Knight's dinning hall stopping outside. Her ears pricked up, hearing the din of a crowd, a small one passing conversations in low, hushed murmurs: the atmosphere of a medieval tavern with wine and roast galore.

A pleasant smell wafted out seizing all her senses. Intoxicated by the aroma of pure, home cooking, she forget all about her worries before, sauntering in as if she were herself and nothing out of the ordinary concerning her and Yuri had ever happened.

"Hey Judith darlin' we were waiting," called out a jolly voice, old Raven apparently a little merry on wine, not quite drunk as a lord, carousing inside by one of the long oak tables spanning the massive hall. "Oh, look how she walks! Baby! I'm in love!" he proclaimed, jumping up on his chair when she entered.

"Oh, you'll just get burned," she teased, grinning at him, her usual self, posing so her arms were behind her back, and her bosom was struck out, to draw his attention to her breasts. Going a step further, she leaned her weight on one leg, to draw his eye to the curve of her waist and her alluring, rounded thighs.

"Baby! I'm already burned," he shouted, leaping off. He grabbed Rita, dancing with her drunkenly about the hall, when she slapped him.

"HEY! Get off me, old man," she hissed, storming back to the table. "I'm not joining your fan club, nor do I have any reason to. So buzz off."

"Aww, c'mon Rita, ya know you can't resist my manly musk," Raven laughed, stumbling back towards her. "I'll show you what this body can do. I'll tame the savage beast!"

A low growl rumbled from Repede's throat, where he sat in one corner, with Karol who was fixing trinkets for people in the lower quarter, gathered all around him. This was the hall where they retreated, when the aer overwhelmed the barrier in the Capital, allowing all those monsters in, when Alexei had full control over Estelle's unbelievable power.

"Did you know Repede's a male? Of course, unless you happen to swing in that direction," laughed a rich voice echoing out from the kitchen beyond, making Judith stand still rooted in the very spot she stood. It was Yuri.

"I knew it, you're gay," chuckled Rita, pointing a finger, menacingly. "Its why you're always hitting on the girls just to prove you're straight."

"Look whose talking, that mage who likes to spend time in cold, dark labs doing research," Karol jumped in, standing up, a grin over his round childish face. "You're the one who's in love with Estelle. It's so obvious, right Yuri?"

"Well, only our genius mage can decide, right Boss?" Yuri winked, leaning against the wall in his apron, crossing his arms, and throwing the question cleverly back at Karol.

"Did someone mention my name?" Estelle inquired curiously, seated at one of the long tables further away, conversing some ladies in waiting that served her before she left the castle.

"Sweetie, you'll give me a hug, won't ya? Its all I never asked for after battles against monsters," called Raven cheerily to Estelle, apparently having had too much to drink.

"I'm the one who gets a kiss from her, I mean a hug, not you!" Rita threatened, raising a balled up fist.

"Okay! Okay, have mercy on this poor man," Raven begged, sitting back down, quieting in his seat.

"Haha, I knew you had a crush on her," teased Karol, sneaking up on Rita from behind.

"Shut up!" Rita was about to raise another fist when Yuri caught everyone's sudden attention.

"They're finished, my loved-filled croquettes," hollered Yuri over the crowd, grinning with a tray of food held in one hand.

"D…did you say 'love-filled' croquettes!?" Karol's eyes widened, an odd expression sown across his face, taking a seat next to Raven.

"There must be some secret ingredient," Raven whispered, with a hand to his mouth, speaking softly in Karol's ear, but loud enough for everyone to hear.

Rita, Estelle and Judith joined Yuri gathering around. Everyone sat together, the atmosphere both tense and comical at once.

"A secret ingredient is a cook's greatest secret," added Judith, grinning flirtatiously, staring at Yuri with her wine-dark eyes allowing him to peer into their depths. "So tell me, Yuri, what is that secret ingredient?" she mused, leaning over across the table, bearing her breasts fully at him, spilling out from her blue and gold top.

A glow lit Yuri's face, his inner passion coming out in a way that scared everyone, having never seen the seductive side of Yuri before. "Love," he said with such a straight face, he nearly masked his mischief, peering straight into Judith's gleaming eyes. Was it purely the love of home cooking, or Judith's sexiness that lit a fire under Yuri? Maybe both.

"Love…" repeated Raven, as if he'd been struck by lightning. "My hearin' ain't what it used to be. Did I hear right?" he murmured, tapping himself on the head.

"That's right…'love'," Yuri lowered his voice, almost husky, his eyes falling half shut as a smile played over his face, eying everyone and not just Judith playfully. "The lady who ran the inn where I lived said cooking was all about 'love.'"

"'Love…'" gasped Karol, his eyes still wide with shock, afraid to try one of the croquettes Estelle served on his plate. "That doesn't sound 'right' coming from you. Who are you, and what'd you do with Yuri?"

"It's hard to believe they're just mashed potatoes made into balls," exclaimed Rita, trying one. "They do taste rather good..."

"Tee hehe," Judith chuckled, narrowing her eyes. Now was her chance to get Yuri back for having made her feel uncomfortable, sending through her that electric touch from before. And this was a game the Kritya loved to play. Yuri led her on.

"I put as much _'love'_ as I could. So eat them with _care_, okay?" Yuri suggested, his voice dripping with innuendo, especially on 'love' and 'eat them with care, okay,' the way his voice rose up in inflection, rumbling back in his throat, capturing Judith's gaze, when a wicked grin crossed his sneaky face.

"Oh my…" Judith remarked, extending one leg out under the table, tapping his foot to further tease him over dinner. "What do you mean by…'love?'"

"Have we changed the subject?" babbled Raven, shaking his head. He had tried one of the croquettes, which apparently weren't too bad; lessening the effects of the wine he'd drunken on an empty stomach.

"I _may_ tell you…if you show me some more eye candy," Yuri whispered, grinning across the table, so only Judith heard.

"See?" She raised her brows, smirking. Leaning over further, she teased Yuri grinning, with her arms crossed under her breasts, so he could see the tops of her shoulders directly at him and into her heaving bosom. "Look at this beautiful skin, free of bruises and blemishes."

"Very nice," he replied, though blushing unlike before. "Even nicer than before."

A thrill raced through! She got him back. She made him blush. She'd won their little game. And their friendship returned to the days when they first met, full of humor and good spirits.

"The truth is…there's no special ingredient," Yuri admitted at last, laughing.

"Thank god…" Rita sighed, slumping over in her seat out of relief.

"When I cook, I'll put the same love into my food, so it'll come out as delicious as yours, Yuri," Estelle added innocently, smiling.

"No, Estelle, love in food is just…. scary," exclaimed Karol, finally recovering from the fear of a secret ingredient over dinner.

Repede whimpered, shaking his head, having curled up the whole time by the foot of Yuri's chair. He knew his master loved to play tricks and joke around, though it was sad when people fell for Yuri's tricks so often.

They dined on boar's roast and wine. When they were joking about what their weapons were, Raven had shouted "Sexuality!" in reply. At that point Sodia had ventured in, horrified by that word, exclaiming, "I must report your conduct, Captain Schwann, to Sir Flynn at once! Your vulgar words have profaned a Knight's pure ears. All of our honorable men here will end up like that Yuri." Sodia glared at Yuri. Rita shouted something, and Sodia ran off. Everyone burst out laughing with the merriment of the evening.

But that special feeling still beat deep down inside Judith's heart. Yuri's good spirits over dinner had only endeared her more, at the same time they put her at ease. She needed time to collect her feelings retreating out into the hall. Gliding back down the courtyard outside, the heels of her boots echoed off the floor, answered back only the steps of Knights out on patrol. She found the night air, heavy with moisture from the fountain's spray hissing out, coating her face in mist.

The naked moonlight bathed her, broken only by an object high in the sky. Gazing up, Judith made out its shape silhouetted against the moon, a black form against a silver disc, the Krityan city of Myorzo drifting across the sky. Myorzo never stayed put but traveled endlessly since the days of the ancient war, when the Krityans made a pact with one of the Entelexia, who used its power to keep the city afloat. She recalled the moon looked so much larger and fuller from up there, like seeing a mountain as a speck on the horizon, instead of towering above from its base. From her vantage down on earth, the moon looked so tiny and alone, suspended in the sky.

She reached up with one hand, facing out and up towards the moon, as if she could touch it, holding Myorzo in her palm. She gazed at the moon as a child in Myorzo, when the Elder would tell her stories about Brave Vesperia, the Entelexia, and how the Adaphagoes was sealed away. Except now she was alone, like the moon in the sky, with no one to share her stories, her travels with Brave Vesperia. Yuri's warm invitation to dinner only made her sadder, realizing the emptiness she held inside. Yuri's affection, embracing her as a member of his family, told her the solitary life she lived with Ba'ul, destroying Hermes Blastia before meeting him, was one of loneliness, of isolation, of pain.

No one needed to see who she was as the mysterious "dragon rider" Rita detested, only a knight that fulfilled her very mission. By exposing herself to the world, to Yuri beyond that armor, she'd changed as Yuri had observed, in ways even she didn't understand.

"Why do I want to find a way to save Estelle? Why be a part of Brave Vesperia? Why question if I've changed at all?" Judith asked herself, her gaze filled with desperation, when Myorzo drifted away no longer in front of the moon.

"Answer me!" she cried, her voice swallowed by the twinkling heavens above.

The brightest star in the sky Brave Vesperia ignored her too, twinkling on as if nothing had happened.

_You know my only real goal in life was to destroy the Hermes Blastia. I didn't have to think about other things while I was doing that_, she had told Yuri before.

She didn't have to think about the pain, the isolation of her journey traveling throughout the world to finish a task that might never end, even if she pursued it until the day she died. She didn't have to think about friendship, family: those bonds human beings yearn for. Loneliness became so normal she couldn't tell it hurt. Now that a part of her experienced Yuri's warmth, she hurt so much inside the feelings were overwhelming. She wanted to be more than that "dragon rider," a member of Brave Vesperia who could lean on Yuri when hurt.

Karol did it after the Don's death. Estelle did it when she thought she was an "insipid poison." Raven did it when he thought his life didn't matter at Baction shrine. Even Rita did it too. And Repede curled up by Yuri's leg when saddened. The fact Yuri had chased her all the way to Mt. Temza after she destroyed the blastia aboard the Fierta, had only hurt her more by showing how much he really cared. He fought by her side at Mt. Temza to save Ba'ul from the Hunting Blades. He accepted her back into Brave Vesperia when she broke its laws by destroying the Fierta's blastia.

Adding to her confusion, that special feeling for Yuri still beat in her heart. It arose the moment she met him, basking in his warmth that filled the emptiness within. There was affection in the way he flirted, but was he merely playing, or did he feel something deeper back then, and just before over dinner earlier that evening? He certainly cared, speaking with her and inviting her in to eat. Up until now, Ba'ul had been her only friend, and destroying the Hermes Blastia her only purpose. It hurt having to think if friends besides Ba'ul were important, if she was really a part of Brave Vesperia, what her bond with Yuri really meant.

Those were part of the "other things" she spoke of before with Yuri that had left her speechless. Only now did she realize the gravity of her words, their fullness weighing heavily in her breast, across the shadows of her face, dark once again with thought. The brilliant moonlight couldn't hide her feelings, the depth of emotions she felt. Ba'ul was still injured, knocked out of the sky the first time they tried to rescue Estelle. He was far off absorbing aer to heal. She couldn't contact him or Phaeroh, feeling alone by the fountain.

"Ba'ul, I wish you were here. Things used to be so simple when it was just you and me, before I met Yuri," Judith whispered, her soft voice flowing out over the bubbling fountain.

Her wine-dark eyes returned her melancholy gaze from her reflection shimmering below in the pool. Her reflection would laugh or cry when she did, but it couldn't offer comforting words, feeling like Ba'ul in their telepathic conversations. With Ba'ul, she could feel her conscious melt into his when they spoke, her loneliness fading away, at least a moment. It wasn't the same as intimacy with a human, but it was a sentient friend.

"Ba'ul…" she whimpered, her eyes flooding with tears.

This was the first time since childhood she even came close to crying. She didn't cry. She was stoic. She was rational. No, if she cried it was a sign of weakness, went her thinking. She was always strong, more like Yuri than anyone in their guild, a loner at the same time she supported others. Now, no one was there, not even Ba'ul when she needed them. If the others saw her like this, would she loose their respect she gained?

"Elder, I'm sorry I let you down," Judith sniffled, peering into the pool, leaning over its stony edge, her chin resting on her trembling arms. "The delicate relationship between our people and the Entelexia will collapse if I fail."

Judith recalled the folklore of Myorzo, reciting its ancient words, "Our misbegotten wisdom has sown only the seeds of ruin. The blastia we created granted us blessings, but also blighted aer, the lifeblood of this world. We united with the humans and Entelexia to banish the Adephagos that threatened to swallow the world. If we fail in our duty to destroy the blastia, so the Adephaeos won't awaken, we have disgraced our ancestors."

"Have I failed our ancestors as well, Elder?" reflected Judith, unable to fight the tears.

They clouded her vision, once filled with dreams fulfilling her duty, returning to her people, gaining acceptance shattered in her tears. So alone, crying like a child, she imagined the ancestors of the Krityans going back thousands of years, watching from the heavens, enthroned in the sky like the star Brave Vesperia, watching her below. Not only did she enjoy fighting unlike others of her kind, she couldn't even fulfill her mission for her ancestors.

No! She didn't want to be a weak girl who could do nothing but watch. That's why she became a warrior, the dragon rider for her people. But in doing that she found no other reason for living, no purpose in her life than to destroy the Hermes Blastia. It was wishful thinking the Fates would send Yuri to her, to comfort her like he had before on his evening walk, so she might have a shoulder to cry on and hug.

"Judy? Are you okay?" A deep manly voice echoed out, flowing over her shoulders, up into her ears like music, above the splashing of the fountain, above its watery song.

The way it stroked her sent shivers through, touching not only her body but her very heart as well. She sniffled, too shocked to hide her tears, slowly raising her head, glancing up timidly over her shoulder. He saw her tear stained face, without judging, gently leaned over taking her in his arms. His form that melted into the darkness had come out into the light of the full moon, washing them both in silver, when he lifted her chin up, smiling, placing her head on his shoulder.

"Yuri…" she murmured, blinking away the flood of tears that lasted but a moment. "Why are you here?"

"I sensed something was wrong. The way you were quiet after I met you on my walk. So I invited you to dinner to cheer you up," Yuri began tenderly, brushing his cheek against hers as his chin sank down on his chest, and he wrapped one arm around her shoulders, the other by her waist.

"I never said I needed to speak, just like I wouldn't forget about the aer and Hermes Blastia," Judith replied softly, struggling to maintain her usual composure, not wanting to cry on his shoulder like Karol or Estelle might. She was Judith, she should be strong, or so she'd thought.

"You're one of us, Judy, Brave Vesperia," Yuri whispered, rocking her up against him, as he sat, with her on his lap by the fountain's stony edge. "You weren't there when the Don died, but he said 'take good care of your friends and they'll be there when you need them_._' I realized that when you returned, as did Karol, that's why we accepted you back, and why I'm here…for you, Judy, as your friend." So much love brimmed in his voice it hurt her even more.

She shook her head, wanting him to let her go. "No, Yuri, our friendship isn't like the time we first met, just playing and…" She remained calm despite of her quivering voice.

"Its okay, what you're feeling is normal, at least among humans after they've been friends awhile," Yuri explained gently, showing her a tenderness in his soul he had never revealed so openly.

She'd known the darker side of Yuri, the vigilante who pursued Ragou and Cumore, because she was like that herself in her hunt of the Hermes Blastia. She had even tried to kill Estelle, masked as the dragon rider, during the first visit the party had in Heliord at the Inn, thinking Estelle was some blastia to be destroyed. She hadn't realized Estelle was a human being, someone she knew now as a friend. She might have taken Estelle's life at that point, perhaps not in the same light as Yuri did to Ragou and Cumore. But both of them were loners, who traveled with animals like Ba'ul and Repede as companions.

"No," Judith refused, shaking her head again, this time trying to push against Yuri's grasp.

Yuri was stronger physically, amazingly so for having a medium, but muscular physique, visible in the muscles of his chest, taut and constricted under his dark vest. Judith knew not only was it Yuri's physical strength, but the fire burning in his soul, at the injustice he saw in the world, that fueled his rage, sending Cumore to his death back in the sand pit out of utter fear.

"Let me go," she cried, showing real fear, scared of the fire in Yuri's soul, seen inside his eyes revealing so much strength.

No Krityan male ever held this power over her by virtue of sheer strength. Against a Krityan male, she was the alpha holding the upper hand. A sensual creature, even among Krityans, Judith enjoyed lovemaking very much, for the sake of physical pleasure. She liked fighting too in much the same charge it gave her. But being in love and lust were completely different. She felt an emotional attachment towards, Yuri, which gave him untold power.

"It'll be okay," he whispered, sweeping her up in his arms. Seated on the fountain's rim, he held her completely against him, as if she were some maiden like Estelle.

She couldn't believe it, wanting to struggle, but a sweet smile crossing his lips seduced her more. Yuri's eyes fluttered half shut, so full of love, she felt she were in some dream.

"I have feelings for you. Is that what you're trying to say?" Judith asked directly, still fighting the spell his very presence held, electrified by his touch. She knew everything there was to know about lovemaking, wielding full power over its art, but emotions were different. They made you feel so vulnerable and weak, when another finds his her or way into your very heart.

Yuri nodded, loosening his grasp around her shoulders, cradling the back of her neck in his hand, while his other arm was still encircling her waist. Her plump, supple breasts filling out her top, brushing up against him, her ample thighs glistening in the moonlight, barely covered by a blue skirt in front, and white one behind, would drive any aroused male crazy, but Yuri had control.

"Yes, Judy," he answered at last, breaking the silence between them, calming her with the gentleness in his eyes, thought she felt his hardness in his pants beneath her. "I don't want you to stop being my friend, cause some things have changed. I'll admit, you turn me on, you did when we met, I'm sure you feel it now…"

Judith burst out grinning, winding her arms around his neck, and shifting on his lap just to tease him more. "You've become the best, no dearest friend I have besides Ba'ul. I always thought I'd be alone traveling the world with just him," she confessed.

Yuri's breathing deepened, his perspiration instead. "I really will want to do something, besides see more eye candy, if you know what I mean, and this keeps up," he laughed, returning her ardent grin.

"Oh, well, Yuri, maybe we'll really have to do…'something,' so you can sleep tonight," she purred, her eyes narrowing, glowing with ardor, an intoxicating shade of purple, the color of wine, drawing Yuri in. "Tee he…"

Slipping off his lap, she lowered herself on the ground, beside the fountain like a feline on all fours, crawling back on his lap, raised up on her knees, with her breasts on his knees, her arms crossed over as if to tempt him.

"I want to as much as you…" he replied. He bent over, raising her chin up so their eyes met, though his sight wandered to her pale breasts, wanting to touch them and take her. His black eyes mirrored her violet ones, reflecting one another's images, under this moonlit, starry night, with Brave Vesperia twinkling above as their witness. "But you know how Raven feels about you, how Estelle might feel towards me. We can't destroy the guild's very spirit if we did…something."

Judith nodded, sighing, raising herself up on her knees, so her breasts no longer touched his knees. She wound her arms around his neck, drawing him in, so their faces met only inches apart. "So at least let me do this. It's something even children might do."

Leaning forward, she claimed his lips in hers, a simple, but the deepest and hottest of soul searing kisses, consuming both their very souls. The feelings and tingles spiraling through felt better than any physical act might of, for it was emotions they could hold forever inside them.

"Judy…" Yuri moaned, gently taking her lower lip between his, tasting the sweetness of her mouth. "Do you…." he trailed off, lost in feelings and dreams, feeling his hardness fade away, that simple kiss satisfying his desire, his pants no longer constrained and as painful.

"Yes?" she sang back, joy rising in her voice, smiling sweetly. "I know humans are supposed to say this, but to us Kritya, it's rather odd the emphasis placed on feelings."

"Oh, the 'I love you,' line," Yuri said bluntly, laughing. "Sometimes people say it when they care as friends, or family too."

"Interesting. It's only three simple words, but holds much meaning for humans," Judith mused, sitting besides Yuri on the stony rim, smiling modestly.

That expression almost made Yuri laugh. It was so unlike her, but it made him smile back, the most honest tender smile Judith had seen since she knew him.

"Alright, I'll try to use it like a human might," Judith proposed, grinning. "I want to thank you, Yuri, for caring about me, being my friend, even after I betrayed Brave Vesperia's trust. I know you want to say I destroyed the blastia for the sake of the world, but…"

She thought about her words, saying softly, "You've become a good friend, like Ba'ul. Even if all the blastia are destroyed, and my mission is done, I'd still enjoy traveling with you. Because….I love you, Yuri." The words came out, almost choked, as if it were foreign to her nature as a Krityan. "You're my…friend."

"I love you, too, Judy, you're my friend too, a member of Brave Vesperia," Yuri answered kindly, love flowing through ever facet of his being, wrapping Judith in his warmth. "You're part of our family, so if you ever wanted to leave, like you did before, tell me…so I can say goodbye."

She shook her head, basking in his love, clasping his hands between hers. "No, I wouldn't, I want to travel with you, as long as I can."

"Same here," Yuri returned, standing up, still facing her.

She stood up too, swinging her arms behind her, her hands clasped behind her back in that charming, girlish manner, cocking her head aside and grinning. "Goodnight, Yuri."

"Night, see ya in the morning." He kissed her one last time, passionately on the cheek, yet sweet, waving goodnight as he left, vanishing into the darkness of the hall.

Judith smiled too, gazing up in the sky, at the starry spirits of her ancestors, feeling they were proud. She'd accomplish her mission, not alone, but with friends, others who loved her and cared, like Yuri and Brave Vesperia.

**Owari**

* * *

**Author's note:** That came out rather sweet. I thought it would end up as a lemon, but that would sort of ruin Yuri and Judith's friendship, at least until they got to know each other. The game doesn't really say a lot about Judith's back ground, at least up to Zaude where I am, so a lot of things about Judith not fitting in with her people because she likes to fight, unlike other Kritya, I made up. You don't seem to see a lot of character development in Judith, the way you do with Karol and Estelle, at least not openly. It's more subtle when Yuri says lines like "Judy, you've changed."

I thought the way she flirted with Yuri when they first met in that skit was rather cute, too. And there's this one skit called "Yuri's Secret Ingrediant" after he's mastered some amount of recipes, you get when he says love is his secret ingrediant. The way Troy Baker voiced Yuri, when he suggested, "I put as much love as I could, so eat them with care, okay?" was so suggestive, almost sexy in a way. I was thinking OMG, Yuri is so HOT, the way he's offering to cook. I was fangirling a lot, so this story came out of that, and how he flirted with Judith. Pardon the rant. Thank you for reading. And I want to thank everyone who reviewed my other stories. It's great to see we have a Vesperia section up and writers are adding stories.


End file.
